this game blew me away - maybe because i didnt expect as much, but im enjoying this mmo more than any mmo since wow vanila so yea. NICE ONE - plus im actually really enjoying the singleplayer storyline so gona have to roll some alts for that - strangely enuff i enjoy that part even more than i did in swtor....bioware beaten at its own game? personally id say yes but i guess thats up to everyone themselves

No subscription? Balanced PvP? Overflow shards instead of a login queue? No holy trin... wait... I guess that means I can't play a pure team support character.

Honestly, that's my only concern with the game. I *always* play support in team based games.Engie in TF2, Buff/Heal Druid in Vanilla WoW, the list goes on...I have to wonder if there is enough team support to keep me interested, or if it's just balancedso I can solo without rolling an alt?

So, Justin, should I just wait for SWOTOR to go F2P or do you think Guild Wars is worth the plunge for a player like me?

Was never intrested in the game, but after having seen some gameplay videos I gotta say I'm pretty tempted to pick it up.Will wait a few weeks though, so people level away from me a bit before I catch up.

No holy trin... wait... I guess that means I can't play a pure team support character.

You can definitely build your character as more of a support build. Personally I roll on my Engineer with Healing/Rocket Turret, Flamethrower kit and a buff Elixir (I think its X not sure) but I could easily swap to more support orientated skills. Switch out flamethrower for elixir gun to heal/buff allies while debuffing enemies. Maybe switch out healing turret for the Medic Kit so I can drop first aid supplies or maybe just pick up more Elixirs for my skill slots since you can also throw them at allies to provide them with the buffs and if spec'd for it do damage to enemies. The trait lines are also pretty good for customizing your play style because even though something like explosions may not seem like something your interested in when it comes to healing you can spec in it to get faster bomb/grenade CDs, larger blast radius, a debuff applied to all explosions and then a skill in the Invention trait line that makes bombs heal allies.

You're not gonna be able to pull off a pure healing spec simply because if a class could then everyone would expect that class to heal the others and that doesn't seem to be the design intent for which I am glad. You'll still be expected to be dishing out damage to enemies and such but there are plenty of options to sacrifice personal performance to buff those around you and debuff targets. Also from my limited alt experience I can vouch for the fact that this isn't just the case for the engineer. My lvl 9 Elementalist can swap between the 4 elements at any time going from fire (raw damage/aoe), water/ice (healing/debuffs), air (damage/CC), and earth (damage over time).

That sounds... well, that sounds like exactly what I was hoping when this was mentioned in the video. I can aid my teammates, and it's not considered irresponsible for me to attack the enemy as well as heal/buff the party, and it sounds like a healing turret or medkit build is right up my alley. Thanks for the clarification. If I get the chance to play, my first character will definitely be an engineer.

Playing this game... and shockingly... I've not got level 20 syndrome yet.

Y'know that point in most MMO's around Level 20 where you just get bored but people keep on telling you to push for level 60 because the game doesn't get fun until then? None of that here, also one of the better communities I've seen with individuals helping one another without necessarily being in a party.

It helps that it always gives you something to do... and OH MY GAWD! Dynamic levels is a god send.

Make sure to bring up the level scaling when playing in a lower end area. I've been playing since the head start started and I've leveled up to 19 just in the first Norn area alone (plus a little pvp). With the scaling I hardly notice my level (except for gear requirements) I just go do what I'm feeling up to and the xp follows me.

Also with the scaling you can get loot drops that are at your characters real level while killing low end mobs. Example: When I was 13 I was killing some level 2 deer to complete my daily quest, and I got a green level 13 drop off of one of them, my best drop to date at the time.

Overall the game does a great job of allowing what ever you want to do to feel meaningful.

I like the PvE so far. I just seem to go down incredibly quick as mesmer, but I enjoy it nonetheless.

The only thing I still don't fully understand are the servers. As far as I understand it, they only limit what WvW team you can join (your own).So you'll be able to play with friends on a different server, but can you join guilds and represent them, even if they're created on another server? Also I assume the gem exchange rate is the same on all servers?

Is there a more efficient way to craft?I've harvested 2 starting zone's worth of mats (1-15) and I have just about got 1 character's single profession to level 75 where that character can make use of mats harvested from (15+) zones.

scw55:Is there a more efficient way to craft?I've harvested 2 starting zone's worth of mats (1-15) and I have just about got 1 character's single profession to level 75 where that character can make use of mats harvested from (15+) zones.

Crafting bonus consumables are a god send. You need to be lucky when opening black lion lockboxes if you don't want to spend real cash for gems to buy them but they increase you chance of critical craft xp by 50% and lasts an hour. Personally I try to save up enough mats when I get one to make using it worth it but I do agree that crafting can be really hard. My Engi is Huntsman/Leatherworker but because they use a lot of the same materials (the various levesl of blood/fangs/claws/etc) I've pretty much sidelined my huntsman to focus on my LWing. The good thing is, like pointed out in the video, you can switch professions anytime without losing your originally gained progress and try out something new that might be easier to level along side your other profession of choice.

Vidiot:No subscription? Balanced PvP? Overflow shards instead of a login queue? No holy trin... wait... I guess that means I can't play a pure team support character.

Honestly, that's my only concern with the game. I *always* play support in team based games.Engie in TF2, Buff/Heal Druid in Vanilla WoW, the list goes on...I have to wonder if there is enough team support to keep me interested, or if it's just balancedso I can solo without rolling an alt?

So, Justin, should I just wait for SWOTOR to go F2P or do you think Guild Wars is worth the plunge for a player like me?

While you can't play a "pure" support build capable of keeping another player alive indefinitely on your own (like a healer in most other MMOs), you can build your character to overwhelmingly be about support. Engineers, guardians, and elementalists are probably the most support-oriented professions.

As for crafting: discovery mode is your friend. Do NOT try to grind out the same pair of gloves over and over again to boost your crafting level; you will use far fewer materials if you discover the pattern of the crafting system and use it to your advantage. Discover new recipes in the discovery mode and you get tons of bonus crafting XP, 1-2 levels worth per item in fact.

Vidiot:That sounds... well, that sounds like exactly what I was hoping when this was mentioned in the video. I can aid my teammates, and it's not considered irresponsible for me to attack the enemy as well as heal/buff the party, and it sounds like a healing turret or medkit build is right up my alley. Thanks for the clarification. If I get the chance to play, my first character will definitely be an engineer.

Its definitely not just engies, necro has a ton of heals, debuffs, buffs and alot of skills that either removes debuffs or turn them into buffs and vica versa. Certain classes are more focused in certain areas then others, thief for example is very cc heavy with lots of blinds and such.

Something not mentioned in this review is that you cannot be OCD and play this game >_<Map completion obsession is killing my sleep schedule, and dear god, if I can't find the very last point of interest I cry.....

Vidiot:So, Justin, should I just wait for SWOTOR to go F2P or do you think Guild Wars is worth the plunge for a player like me?

As mentioned by some others, there are some options. Heck, even my thief has a few skills that help groups, like a skill that heals and stealths everyone in the area. That said, the Medic specced Imperial Agent from SWOTOR is one of my favorite support classes ever.

Without going full review mode, as long as you're not looking for the next endgame PVE raiding MMO, Guild Wars 2 is a pretty safe bet.

Vidiot:No subscription? Balanced PvP? Overflow shards instead of a login queue? No holy trin... wait... I guess that means I can't play a pure team support character.

Honestly, that's my only concern with the game. I *always* play support in team based games.Engie in TF2, Buff/Heal Druid in Vanilla WoW, the list goes on...I have to wonder if there is enough team support to keep me interested, or if it's just balancedso I can solo without rolling an alt?

So, Justin, should I just wait for SWOTOR to go F2P or do you think Guild Wars is worth the plunge for a player like me?

I'm playing Guardian as my main. I can choose at any time to take a back-seat and heal/buff my allies or (literally) jump into the fray brandishing my greatsword and burning foes like there's no tomorrow.

This can be done with any profession, as far as I'm concerned, though it's going to be easier for some.

Vidiot:No subscription? Balanced PvP? Overflow shards instead of a login queue? No holy trin... wait... I guess that means I can't play a pure team support character.

Honestly, that's my only concern with the game. I *always* play support in team based games.Engie in TF2, Buff/Heal Druid in Vanilla WoW, the list goes on...I have to wonder if there is enough team support to keep me interested, or if it's just balancedso I can solo without rolling an alt?

So, Justin, should I just wait for SWOTOR to go F2P or do you think Guild Wars is worth the plunge for a player like me?

The engineer has a few utility skills that can let it act as support, like the elixir gun, med pac, and various throwers. Engineer sounds like its good for you if you want to support. I recommend you do him as a Charr, the armor looks ballin'.

Y'know that point in most MMO's around Level 20 where you just get bored but people keep on telling you to push for level 60 because the game doesn't get fun until then? None of that here, also one of the better communities I've seen with individuals helping one another without necessarily being in a party.

It helps that it always gives you something to do... and OH MY GAWD! Dynamic levels is a god send.

CAPTCHA: Top Notch.You bet your buns it is.

Oh wow, really? That's like my problem with EVERY mmo I've ever tried. Around 20 I just stop playing. Now I really want to get this game.

I wish I could keep playing, but my account got stolen and I've been back and forth with ArenaNet to get it back.

That said, this is easily the best MMO I have ever played, bar none. Combat's fast, fluid, and requires skill, as opposed to waiting for a timer to finish unwinding. There's so much to do, be it exploring, crafting, doing jumping puzzles, dynamic events, heart quests.... Seriously, GotY material, and as I said before, easily the best MMO I've ever played.

There is a "group" boss in the lvl 20 area of GW2. He hits pretty damn hard and from 6+ players, only 2 were left. With one guy kiting and the 2nd bring guys up the party was brought back to full force again. The fight lasted 2+ minutes with over 6 people on the boss, a few guys going down, just to be brought back up again was fantastic. The every idea that 2 people can bring the group back up in any other MMO would be considered crazy and that is why I love GW2.

I'll also explain the role switch better. A weapon a player chooses pushes strongly into the area of how you want to play. You want to be a healing Guardian? Use a 1h mace or staff. Want do some dps? Use a 1h sword or broadsword. Each class can use 6+ different items as weapons that you can mix and match some to strengthen a play style.

Vidiot:No subscription? Balanced PvP? Overflow shards instead of a login queue? No holy trin... wait... I guess that means I can't play a pure team support character.

Honestly, that's my only concern with the game. I *always* play support in team based games.Engie in TF2, Buff/Heal Druid in Vanilla WoW, the list goes on...I have to wonder if there is enough team support to keep me interested, or if it's just balancedso I can solo without rolling an alt?

So, Justin, should I just wait for SWOTOR to go F2P or do you think Guild Wars is worth the plunge for a player like me?

You can play heavy support, but you're expected to pitch in for damage output and tanking and such on occasion.

I play an Engineer in GW2, and I play heavy support. I drop medpacks, spray the ground with healing mist, give nearby players regeneration, and if I have time, I'll throw whatever elixir I have equipped into the highest concentration of allies. Overall, though, the healing alone doesn't help allies circumvent all damage; those people are expected to dodge and move when needed.If an ally is getting swarmed with a large group of enemies, I'll get in front of them and put up my shield (you can intercept attacks in GW2 by simply being in the way).

That being said, healing and support only go so far in this game. You have a weapon and you're expected to use it otherwise the enemies simply won't die. I get over that by basing my damage output heavily on poison and bleed effects so I can apply the condition and get onto more support-oriented things.

However, note the game has NO tanks whatsoever. Even the most heavily armored player will have tremendous difficulty absorbing all the damage. All players in a group are expected to grab aggro, dodge around a bit, kite a bit, then let someone else take over if you're betting battered too heavily.Personally, I lean towards support as well so I tend to utilize freezing grenades, flashbang grenades, shield stuns, and explosive knockbacks to keep enemies off myself and allies.

That's my take on the game and how I play "support". Just because pure support doesn't exist doesn't mean you can't dip heavily into support. Also, even if you dipped heavily into support, it doesn't mean you are not expected to output some damage and grab aggro on occasion.It's very enjoyable and quite recommended.

I've been playing a lot lately myself. I do wish default bank space was bigger, but that's really the only big issue I've had thus far, other than obvious bugs. I'm having a blast!

(Dinky is my brain buddy!)

Erm, maybe you haven't been using the deposit all collectibles button?The little gear at the top right of your inventory window sends your crafting materials to the collections space, which is independent of your bank, to a maximum of 250 of each.

Personally, I made a guild just for myself. Membership of 1.Just so I can build up the guild storage as my personal stash.

I've been playing a lot lately myself. I do wish default bank space was bigger, but that's really the only big issue I've had thus far, other than obvious bugs. I'm having a blast!

(Dinky is my brain buddy!)

Erm, maybe you haven't been using the deposit all collectibles button?The little gear at the top right of your inventory window sends your crafting materials to the collections space, which is independent of your bank, to a maximum of 250 of each.

Personally, I made a guild just for myself. Membership of 1.Just so I can build up the guild storage as my personal stash.

No, no I've been abusing that collectibles tab to the fullest. DEFAULT space is still pretty small.

A message will pop up informing you that merchant A is going to settlement B and an icon pops up on the mini-map and then you and 20 other people swarm in and provide a rolling cover for the wagon (which follows a pretty sensible route). It takes 2-5 minutes and if you're new to the map area then you usually wind up getting a new settlement marked on the map when you get there. Plus the XP and cash reward. This is how escort quests were meant to be.